The words

Padel grew up in Spanish, so half of what gets shouted across a club court is Spanish even in London or Dubai. 42 terms, each with the original, a definition you could say between points, and the puzzle where it shows up on a real court.

Overheads From the back At the net Movement Formations Court Rules Formats Equipment

Overheads

Bandeja bandeja (“tray”): A controlled, sliced overhead hit from beside the shoulder on a lob that would otherwise push you off the net. It is not a winner: it lands deep, stays low, and buys you the time to get back to the net. The most important overhead in padel, and the first one to learn.
From the service line, sliced, deep to the corner so it dies off the back glass; then back to the net.
Víbora víbora (“viper”): A faster, more aggressive cousin of the bandeja, hit with a whipping side-spin, contact further in front of the body, and aimed to bounce into the side glass or the corner so the ball comes out low and awkward. Used on lobs slightly short of a full bandeja.
Struck with side spin from the bandeja position, flatter and harder, into the side glass so it runs away from them.
Smash remate: The flat, hard overhead hit down on a short, high lob. In padel it is aimed to bounce and leave the court over the back glass, or to die off the side glass: a smash into the back wall at a playable height just comes back.
Under a short lob, hit down hard, aiming to bounce near the back glass and rise out of reach.
Por tres / por cuatro remate por tres, por cuatro: A smash that bounces in the opponents' court and leaves it: “por tres” out over the three-metre side wall, “por cuatro” over the four-metre back wall. Both win the point on an enclosed court; where out-of-court play is allowed, a por tres can be chased back and a por cuatro cannot.
A smash that bounces and leaves the court over the three-metre side wall. Hit angled and high so it kicks off the glass and out.
Rulo rulo (“curl”): A topspin overhead that rolls over the top of the ball so it dips deep and kicks off the back glass. The attacking option on a lob too deep for a flat smash to leave the court: the topspin makes it kick up off the back glass, ideally out or unplayable. It needs a high contact and time under the ball.
A topspin smash that hits the back glass high and rebounds back over the net to your side. Needs a short lob and a wrist.
Gancho gancho (“hook”): An overhead hit from behind the head with the arm bent, when the lob has got slightly past you: a hooking action that pushes the ball deep to stay in the point; the alternative to turning the shot into a bandeja.
The hook: a lob has got behind you and you reach back over the head and flick it deep. A rescue shot, not a weapon.

From the back

Lob globo: The high ball over the net players, aimed to land in the last two metres before the glass. The shot that moves the opponents off the net and lets your pair take it. The most important shot in padel.
High and deep from the back, over the two at the net, landing near the back glass so they cannot smash it.
Chiquita chiquita (“little one”): A soft, low ball with slice played from the back to land at a net player's feet, forcing them to volley upward while your pair advances behind it. The lob's quieter sibling.
A soft, low ball from the back that dips at the net player's feet. Takes the pace out and makes them volley up.
Bajada bajada de pared (“descent off the wall”): A firm, flat drive hit off the back-glass rebound of a deep lob, when the ball comes out at chest height. It turns a defensive position into pressure and is followed to the net.
A high ball off your own back glass hit down and hard, flat, at the net players' feet or through the middle.
Contra-pared contrapared: Hitting the ball into your own back or side glass so that it rebounds up and over the net. Legal off your own glass (not the mesh) as long as it then lands in the opponents' court. The emergency shot for a ball that has beaten you to the wall.
No time to turn, so you hit the ball into your own back glass and let the rebound carry it over the net. Emergency only.
Salida de pared salida de pared (“exit off the wall”): Any shot played after the ball has rebounded off your own glass. The core skill of padel defence: turn side-on, let the ball hit the wall, and play it on the way out.
The ball comes off the back glass and you play it on the way out: feet set, deep and controlled, usually a lob.
Doble pared: A ball that hits two walls, side glass then back glass, or back then side, before you play it. Side-then-back (que abre) comes off the back glass toward the centre, away from you; back-then-side (que cierra) comes off the side glass across your body.
Side glass then back glass: the ball comes out towards the middle of the court. Wait, let it come, then lob or drive.
Drive derecha / revés (forehand / backhand): A flat or lightly sliced groundstroke hit firmly and low. From the back against two net players it is the surprise, not the plan: most balls from the back go up.
The flat ground stroke from the back, hit low over the net at the volleyer's feet or through the middle. Pace with a purpose.
Cortada / liftada cortada (sliced), liftada (topspin): The two spins. A cortada is hit with slice: it stays low, floats on the lob and dies off the glass. A liftada is hit with topspin: it dips, kicks off the wall, and is the exception in padel rather than the rule.
A sliced ball from the back, cut under so it stays low after the bounce and sits down at the volleyer's feet.

At the net

Volley volea: The ball hit before it bounces, from the net position. Above the net: hit down and attack. Below the net: push deep and wait. Padel volleys are short, firm punches with a slightly open face and a touch of slice.
Taken before the bounce with a short punch, deep and low to the back player's feet. No swing.
Block volley volea de bloqueo: A volley with no swing at all, racket in front, firm wrist, that uses the pace the opponent gave you. The backhand block is the answer to a hard ball at the body.
Against a hard drive at the net, the racket just stops the ball: no swing, firm wrist, and it drops short of the back players.
Half-volley bote pronto: The ball played just after it bounces, racket low and behind it. The transition shot for a ball at your feet as you move to the net; you play it and keep moving in rather than retreating.
Caught at your feet as you move in, the ball is taken just after the bounce with a low racket and sent back deep.
Drop shot dejada: A soft ball played to die just over the net. In padel it is only on when both opponents are deep against the glass and you have the ball above the net; in any other situation it hands them the net.
Both of them deep, so the ball is dropped just over the net with backspin. Softest hands, and only when they are back.
Poach cruzar / robar la bola: The net partner cutting across to intercept a ball that was heading to their partner, usually the returner's repeated cross-court drive. Timed to the hitter's commitment, and the partner covers the space left behind.
Your partner's ball, taken by you: a step across the middle to volley it before it reaches him. Decide early, then go.
Contrapié contrapié (“wrong-footing”): Hitting behind an opponent who is already moving the other way. A player running to cover the cross-court cannot stop for the ball placed where they just were.
The ball played behind a player who has already moved: he covers the gap, you hit where he came from.

Movement

Split step split / paso de ajuste: The small hop that lands both feet just as the opponent strikes the ball, so you can push off in any direction. Timed to their contact, not to where you are on the court.
A small hop onto both feet as the opponent hits, so you can push off either way. Every ball, both of you.
No man's land zona muerta / tierra de nadie: The area around the service line where balls land at your feet and you can neither volley down nor use the glass. You pass through it on the way to the net; you never stand in it.
Transition transición / subida a la red: The move from the back of the court to the net, behind a lob or a chiquita. Both players advance together, split-step as the opponent hits, and continue or retreat depending on the reply.
From defence to the net: the lob buys the time, and you both walk in together, stopping at the service line if they are about to hit.
Net position posición de red: Two to three metres from the net: close enough to volley down, far enough to reach a lob. Not on the net, and never on the service line.
A metre or so inside the service line, level with your partner, three metres apart. Closer than that and the lob beats you.

Formations

Australian formation formación australiana: The server's partner starts on the same half as the server, and the server crosses to the other half after serving. Used to take away a returner's habitual cross-court lob.
Both of you start on the server's side. The serve goes, the server runs across to cover the open half, and the partner holds the net.
I-formation formación en I: The server's partner crouches in the centre of the net at the serve and breaks to one side as the return is hit, hiding the coverage from the returner.
The partner starts crouched in the middle at the net and picks a side as the serve is struck; the server fills the other.

Court

Deuce side / advantage side lado del drive / lado del revés: The right and left halves of the court as you face the net. In Spanish they are named for a right-hander's shots: the right is the forehand (drive) side, the left the backhand (revés) side, even though the left-side player takes the middle on the forehand.
Glass cristal / pared: The transparent walls at the back and part of the sides. After the ball has bounced on your floor, your glass is in play and the ball can be played off it. A ball that hits the opponents' glass before bouncing is out.
Mesh malla / reja: The metal fence that makes up the rest of the walls. In play after the bounce like the glass, with a dead, unpredictable rebound, and on the serve, a ball that bounces and then touches the mesh is a fault.
Cruzada / paralela cruzada, paralela: Cross-court and down the line. The cruzada is the long diagonal and the default direction from the back; the paralela is the shorter ball down your own side, over the higher part of the net, used as the surprise.
Played across the court, from your corner to their far side. The longest ball you can hit, and the angle that pulls them wide.

Rules

Let let / repetición: A point or serve replayed. A serve that clips the net and lands in the box is a let; so is any point interrupted from outside (a ball from another court, a broken ball). A let on a serve replays that serve only.
Golden point punto de oro: At forty all, a single point decides the game. The receiving pair choose which of them receives, and the server must serve to that side. One of three scoring options in the FIP rules, beside advantage and, since 2026, the star point (two advantages, then a deciding point). The competition decides which applies.
Foot fault falta de pie: Touching or crossing the service line with a foot before the serve is struck. Since 2026 one foot must be behind the line and at least one on the ground; neither foot may touch the line or the centre-line extension; a foot fault is a fault like any other, including on the second serve.
Hindrance obstrucción / molestia: Anything that puts an opponent off as they play. Deliberate hindrance loses the point; accidental hindrance is a let. Calling to your own partner is neither.
Match tie-break súper tie-break: A tie-break to ten points, win by two, played instead of a full third set when a competition's regulations say so. The default in the rules is a full deciding set.

Formats

Americano: The social tournament format: partners rotate every round, matches are short and played to a fixed number of points, and each player's score is the sum of points won. The Mexicano variant re-draws pairs each round by current ranking.
Level (1-7) nivel: The self-declared and match-adjusted rating used by booking apps to match players: roughly 1 to 1.5 starting out, 1.5 to 2.5 club beginner, 2.5 to 3.5 intermediate, 3.5 to 4.5 strong club, 4.5+ advanced and competitive. Self-declared levels run half a point to a point optimistic.

Equipment

Round, teardrop, diamond redonda, lágrima, diamante: The three racket shapes. Round: sweet spot in the centre, balance in the hand, control. Diamond: mass in the head, power, small sweet spot. Teardrop: between. Beginners start round.
Sweet spot punto dulce: The area of the face where the ball comes off cleanly with the least vibration. Big and central on a round racket, small and high on a diamond. Off-centre hits and a twisting racket are a sweet-spot problem.
Balance balance (alto / bajo): Where a racket's mass sits. Head-heavy (high balance) for power on the overhead; head-light (low balance) for manoeuvrability, control and a happier elbow. Two rackets of the same weight can feel completely different because of it.
EVA soft / hard goma EVA blanda / dura: The foam core inside the racket. Soft EVA absorbs vibration and gives a bigger sweet spot and more comfort; hard EVA gives more power to players who already hit the centre and more feedback on everything else.
Overgrip overgrip / sobregrip: The thin wrap wound over the base grip to size the handle to your hand and keep it dry. Most rackets ship with a handle too thin for most hands; one or two overgrips stop the racket twisting on volleys.